Few questions for today:

1)What is the proper way to wire for AFCI? It says it cannot have shared neutral, otherwise, it will trip the AFCI. What do they mean by shared neutral? Does that mean we cannot have a 12/3 use and must wire with a 12/2 instead? Can we wire a 12/2 with lights & receptacles under same AFCI circuit? Will AFCI work? What happend to old panel box that was installed years ago? I don't think they have dedicated neutral? How will AFCI work in those panels?

2) Is it a violation to wire lights, smoke detector & receptacles under the same circuit, assuming the load is sufficient?